While the most popular social networks allow their users to edit photos and present a filtered image of themselves to society, the increasingly popular photo-sharing app BeReal, as its name suggests, requires a real image of the user and disables the addition of filters.
Founded in December 2019, the app has gained global recognition in recent months, with its user base increasing by 315 percent in the first three months of this year, according to Apptopia data.
Targeted at the so-called Generation Z, this app allows its users to share only one photo a day to show their friends exactly what they are doing at a specific moment.
After downloading the app, users receive notifications once a day to share an unedited photo of themselves and their surroundings within two minutes using the front and back cameras of their phones. To prevent planning activities and staging photos, notifications come at different times of the day, and the whole idea lies in creating a shame-free digital environment and showcasing the “real you.”
While Instagram and TikTok are dominated by influencers, which can affect the self-esteem of younger generations, BeReal is a direct opposite, removing the pressure that every photo must be perfect and eliminating superficiality from its platform.
A similar app called Dispo was developed by David Dobrik, which takes its users back to the era of disposable cameras, with an emphasis also on unedited photos and no captions. Dispo allows for multiple photo captures, but like disposable cameras, photos take time to develop and can only be seen the next day.
The trend of removing false perceptions has also taken root in Croatia, where a dating app called Hangoo emerged last year, offering its users the opportunity to socialize through avatars and voice to eliminate superficiality and an environment where people judge based on photos rather than values and attitudes.
